The North Island by campervan

Part 1: Auckland

If you're starting on Auckland's North Shore,
make your way to the Cheltenham district and buy some lovely,
French-style pastries, bread, sausages and meats from
Pyrénées (www.pyreneesdeli.co.nz), a deli located in a
former butcher shop. Across the harbour bridge around central
Auckland you'll find gorgeous imported Italian and Spanish treats
at Sabato (www.sabato.co.nz), wonderfully fresh New
Zealand fish, meat and vegetables, including the kumara (a
type of sweet potato), and artisanal imported foods at
Farro Fresh (www.farrofresh.co.nz). Stock up on freshly made
pasta at Delicious (www.delicious.co.nz), and at Dellows
Kitchen (www.dellows.co.nz) you can buy home-made frozen
ready-meals that will help keep your chilly-bin cold.

At the weekend, visit La Cigalle, the
French-inspired farmers' market in Parnell, a great place to stock
up on cheese, vegetables and other produce. If you have a fridge in
the van, buy some fresh seafood from the Auckland Fish
Market, which is open most days. Look out for
hapuka, snapper, tarakihi and blue cod and, if
they are in season, some New Zealand whitebait (which resemble
elvers rather than British whitebait). If you want top-quality
meat, then look out for the Firstlight brand at The Neat
Meat Company's stall at the Auckland Fish Market. I've
been working with Firstlight for many years now, and it is
dedicated to producing some of the finest meat in the country.
Treat yourself to some of its incredible Hawkes Bay wagyu
or farmed venison. If your taste buds are more eclectic, then head
to Avondale market (open Sundays, 6am-midday),
where you can stock up on Polynesian vegetables, Cambodian curries
and rice paper wraps. And you must try a Boil-Up, which is exactly
that: a Maori dish of boiled meat, bones, potatoes and native
puha (a cross between watercress and dandelion). There are
numerous coffee-roasting places to stock up on freshly ground
beans, so don't forget to take a cafetière with you. One of my
favourites is Allpress Espresso (www.allpress.co.nz), where you can grab a
take-away coffee for the trip as well as one of its crunchy,
melt-in-the-mouth toasted schiacciata sandwiches.

If you want to picnic in Auckland, then head to one of the
North Shore's beaches to set up a blanket and gaze
across to the flat-cone-shaped Rangitoto Island,
which sits smack bang in the middle of the harbour, or head to
Waiheke Island, a 20-minute ferry ride away, and
have a picnic on one of its lovely beaches. You could also squeeze
in a visit to one of the island's world-class vineyards.

By Peter Gordon: this article featured in the January 2009 issue
of Condé Nast Traveller magazine